Burnout and emotional intelligence among nursing staff working in closed and open hospital wards.

Abstract

Introduction: The workplace and the conditions prevailing in it play a decisive role in the lives of most workers, since a significant part of their lifetime is spent there. The characteristics of each workplace can affect the physical and mental health of the individual and their level of satisfaction with work throughout their life.
Purpose: The purpose of this research study is to measure the level of burnout of closed and open ward nursing staff as well as to examine the affection level of their emotional intelligence.
Material and Method: The present study concerns quantitative research in a special population (nursing staff) using self-administered questionnaires. The present study began in February 2024 and was completed in May of the same year. A total of 100 nursing staff from closed wards and 100 from open wards of the University General Hospital of Attica participated. The sample of participants was convenience and satisfied the inclusion criteria for the study while there would be no additional limitation regarding demographic, social or other characteristics. The selection of participants will be based on easy and short access to the sample. The selection of participants will be based on easy and short access to the sample. Significance levels are two-sided and statistical significance was set at 0.05. The statistical program SPSS 26.0 was used for the analysis.
Results: The majority of participants were female (72%), with 35% aged between 31 and 40 years. Significant differences were observed between the two groups in several demographic and occupational characteristics, including educational attainment (p<0.001), professional category (p<0.001), years of work experience (p<0.001), number of children (p=0.023), work shifts (afternoon: p<0.001; night: p<0.001), and intention to leave the profession due to working conditions (p<0.001). Nursing staff employed in closed units reported significantly lower levels of emotional exhaustion (M=28.78, SD=2.58 vs. M=30.49, SD=2.45, p<0.001) and higher levels of personal accomplishment (M=26.28, SD=1.90 vs. M=18.42, SD=2.18, p<0.001) compared with those working in open units, whereas depersonalization did not differ significantly between the two groups (M=16.33, SD=1.42 vs. M=16.54, SD=1.79, p=0.360). With regard to emotional exhaustion levels, 61% of the sample exhibited moderate and 39% high scores. The prevalence of high emotional exhaustion was significantly greater among nursing staff in open units compared with those in closed units (47% vs. 31%, p=0.020).
Conclusions: The nursing staff of the closed wards had significantly higher educational level and significantly more children, this allows us to conclude that in combination with lower burnout the nursing staff of the closed wards have more endurance to invest in their personal and professional development than the nursing staff of the open wards who recorded higher rates